Former Raptors guard Malachi Flynn on the move again at trade deadline

Let’s hope that Malachi Flynn didn’t get too settled in New York after being traded away from the Toronto Raptors.

Less than a month after joining the New York Knicks alongside OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa, the former Raptors guard was again rerouted to a new home today, his third NBA team in a little over a month.

As per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Flynn was flipped to the Detroit Pistons along with Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono, and two second-round picks, in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.

Full trade, per ESPN Sources:
Knicks: Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks
Pistons: Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono and two second-round picks.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2024

Flynn, a 2020 first-round pick by the Raptors out of San Diego State, never quite reached his full potential in Toronto. Across four seasons with the team, he averaged 5.4 points, two assists and 1.8 rebounds in 175 games for the Raptors in his career.

While he showed flashes of potential as a key piece for Toronto, he fell out of the rotation with both head coach Nick Nurse and Darko Rajakovic, and was never quite able to find a consistent role with the franchise.

He wasn’t exactly getting a ton of looks in New York’s rotation either under Tom Thibodeau— putting up just 2.2 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 14 games for the Knicks following the trade, playing an average of just 4.3 minutes a night.

The Pistons, however, could be the perfect spot for the 25-year-old guard to try to carve out an NBA career. At a record of 7-43, they currently sit last in both the Eastern Conference and overall NBA standings, and should have plenty of opportunity for playing time following the trade deadline.

The NBA trade deadline is set for 3 pm ET today.

The Pistons and Raptors next meet on March 13 in Detroit, where Flynn will have the chance to reconnect with a few of his old Toronto teammates.

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